EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally stated that this event would be a celebration. After discussing it with Jamestown Settlement, we have changed the wording to reflect that this is a commemoration. We apologize for any confusion. Additionally, we have updated a few of the embedded hyperlinks in the story, including for the link on how to purchase admission.
JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Settlement Museum is commemorating Jamestown Day on May 8. This year’s commemoration will mark the 414th anniversary of the 1607 founding of the Jamestown colony.
The museum will commemorate this year’s anniversary with a variety of family-friendly interpretive programs, military salutes, and maritime demonstrations. Additionally, the settlement will include special Indigenous Arts Day activities.
In conjunction with “FOCUSED: A Century of Virginia Indian Resilience,” a contemporary exhibition on display through March 25, 2022, Indigenous Arts Day will celebrate native culture through outdoor demonstrations of music, dance, traditional as well as contemporary art.
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Red Crooked Sky American Indian Dance Troupe, Stoney Creek Singers and award-winning hoop dancer Meredith Schramm (Omaha) will perform, along with flutist Nathan Elliott (Nottoway). Throughout the day, a variety of native artists will display and demonstrate their work, which will be available for purchase.
At the ships’ pier, visitors can board the Godspeed, a re-creation of one of the three ships that brought English colonists to Jamestown in 1607, and learn how sailors navigated the seas in the 17th century with a 1 p.m. demonstration on celestial navigation.
The re-created Paspahegh town will be open for visitors to discover how Virginia Indians constructed a dugout canoe, cooked over open fires and made tools of stone and bone. In the re-created fort, visitors can see demonstrations of period cooking, military and matchlock firings, as well as artillery firing near the riverfront, and view demonstrations of English and Powhatan comparative weaponry, according to the news release.
Inside the museum, the docudrama, “1607: A Nation Takes Root,” will play every 30 minutes in the museum theater. The film traces the evolution of the Virginia Company that sponsored the Jamestown colony, examines the relationship between the English colonists and the Powhatan Indians, and chronicles the arrival of the first recorded Africans in 1619.
Jamestown Settlement is located at 2110 Jamestown Rd, with daily hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gift shop and café open during museum hours. Parking is free. Residents of James City County, York County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive free admission with proof of residency.
Admission tickets can be purchased online or in person, following safety protocols.
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